THE STATE OF REPORTING ON PUBLIC MEDIA, PARTICULARLY NONCOMMERCIAL RADIO • MEANWHILE IN MADISON

Tom Taylor

Tom Taylor is the best radio biz reporter of his generation. Since he retired from publishing his newsletter, Tom Taylor NOW, at the end of 2018 we miss his writing every day. Now commercial radio is saying thank you to Taylor for his three decades of work.

The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) is presenting its Spirit of Broadcasting Award to Taylor at the 2019 NAB Show in Las Vegas. Taylor will accept the award Monday, April 8, at the NAB Show Opening.

Taylor deserves the award for many good reasons. When he announced the award, NAB executive VP of communications Dennis Wharton said:

“Tom's love for the business of broadcasting is matched only by his journalistic integrity, and NAB is delighted to honor him for his lifetime of service to quality radio reporting.”

We want to add another reason: Taylor “got it” about public media and noncommercial radio. Taylor is an avid NPR News listener who knows the fundamentals of public radio – how it operates, how it is funded, the role of members and donors and the amazing growth of NPR News locally and nationally.

Taylor is important to us at Spark News.  He read virtually everything we posted and often commented on our stories. If we broke a big story Tom Taylor NOW would always credit us for reporting the story first. He encouraged us and thanked us for writing about radio.

After Taylor retired, he sent us an email that said, in part:

“Ken, thanks for your support over the years - that means a lot. And you're one of the very few folks who understands what it's like to produce a new product every day.”

It meant so much to us when he credited us for producing a new product ever day. Taylor new that Spark News is a labor of love, not a money making scheme.

Taylor’s departure is also the radio industry’s loss. There seems to be fewer and fewer journalists who specialize in the “radio beat.” In our congested multi-platform, multichannel world, there is now one less reporter telling radio’s story.

WHO IS LEFT TO REPORT ON PUBLIC RADIO

First, of course, is Current [link] the home of News for People in Public Media. Current is the “publication of record” for public radio and television. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) provided the initial funding for Current. Its purpose was, and still is, to chronicle the progress of CPB-funded stations and initiatives. 

Current does it well but sometimes their scope is limited. People have asked us Does Spark News compete with Current? No, we don’t. We try not to duplicate their coverage. Rather, we do what Current is not doing. We specialize in enterprise reporting about trends in the business and the people who make things happen. Plus, when something is bullshit we call it “bullshit.”

Our favorite blog is Jacobs Media’s Jacoblog [link], a personal passion and promotional page authored by Fred Jacobs. Jacoblog is also published daily. Jacobs is a prolific writer, who writes about radio and audio in larger contexts. He is a pro at connecting the dots and finding reality in an often over-hyped business. 

Jacobs also knows public media and he writes about it often. He is on the Board of the Public Radio Program Directors association (PRPD).  But Jacoblog is generally not reporting news. It is commentary.

Radio World [link] is the “Walmart” of the biz. They’ve got something for everyone – commercial and noncommercial radio, ham radio and shortwave enthusiasts, history, commentary and lots of stuff about equipment and software. Radio World has republished our writing (for free) and provided links to specific stories, for which we are grateful.

All Access [link] is a digital ‘zine that lives at the intersection of “radio and records.” It began in 1995 when Joel Denver left Radio & Records during the waning days of the magazine. 

Denver was ahead of his time. He saw that the future of music was digital and print media was too expensive to continue as ad revenue shrank. 

All Access does cover public media but it is a “clip service” that republishes news from other sources but does very little original reporting. We like All Access because it combines a comprehensive look at many topics with the “too hip” vibe of R&R.

Inside Radio [link] is all about Big Corporate Radio. If you want to know about the latest deals by iHeartRadio, Cumulus Media and Entercom, this is the publication for you. Inside Radio does cover public media, typically from the dollars and cents point-of-view.

We particularly like Inside Radio’s weekly podcasts by Managing Editor Paul Heine. We intended to provide a link to them but there is nothing about on the Inside Radio website. Perhaps they have been cancelled.

MADISON FALL 2018 NIELSEN AUDIO RATINGS

It was a mixed bag for Wisconsin Public Radio’s (WPR) two program channels in the Fall 2018 Nielsen ratings compared to Fall 2016. 

Dual format (NPR News & Classical) WERN was down in both AQH share and estimated weekly listeners. 

Public Radio Talk on WHA, the flagship of WPR’s Ideas Network did a bit better.

Some of the best stations in Madison aren’t listed in the ratings because they don’t subscribe to them.

• WSUM 91.7 FM [link] is one of the most successful college stations in the nation.

• WORT 89.9 FM [link] is your grandpa’s favorite community station.

• WVMO 98.7 FM [link] is perhaps the best LPFM station on the planet.

• Commercial AAA WMMM 105.5 FM Triple M [link] is a heritage progressive rock station that provides everything you want in this ultimate college town.